You’ve probably heard of MOO before – the company that turns your Flickr images into mini business cards – but they now offer a lot more: full size business cards, greeting cards and postcards, stickers and labels, and more. And you don’t need a Flickr account to use them – you can upload your photos directly to MOO.

MOO asked me if I’d like to test out their service, and I was happy to oblige – I’d wanted to order some minicards anyway, but had no idea that they’d be able to ship to me in South Africa! It turns out that MOO have two websites (US and UK) but they ship worldwide from both those locations (if you’re international, compare shipping prices to your country from each site before you order, to get the best deal).

My Experience

I decided the most useful products for me would be lots of PlanetJune MiniCards and StickerBooks. (I also ordered a high quality dot grid notebook, because I love large notebooks when I’m designing, and the grid of dots makes it easy for me to draw crochet stitch patterns, write without sloping down the page, and sketch without lines getting in the way.)

The process for creating any size of cards or stickers is really simple – just browse your computer for some suitable photos, and upload them. The unique thing about MOO’s service is that you don’t need to have the same image on each of your cards: for no extra cost, you can upload as many images as you want, to the point where every card in your pack can have a different photo, if you want! (You can also use MOO’s design templates if you don’t want to start from scratch with your card design.)

Once you’ve uploaded your images, you can resize and crop each one to fill the frame nicely before approving the project. You can also delete any images that don’t look good, add extra pics, or save your project to edit later. A little tip: If you have several designs uploaded to one pack of cards/stickers, you’ll receive an equal number of each design. As my Baby Bunnies photo is so perfect for the MiniCard size and shape, I added that same photo several times, so I’d end up with lots of bunny cards and a few of each of my other choices.

They look great: bright and colourful, and the photos are crisp and high-res. MiniCards are the same width as a standard business card, but half the height. Each card is printed in full colour on both sides of the high quality cardstock, so, for the first time ever, I have my logo and colour printing on the back of my business cards:

I want to address price before I move on. Although MOO’s prices may not look competitive compared with cheaper services like Vistaprint which I’ve used in the past, there are no hidden extras with MOO. When I used Vistaprint, by the time I’d added the glossy upgrade fee, the image upload fee, and the print on reverse side fee, the cards ended up being many times more expensive than they initially appeared to be, and only worked out to be cost-effective if I bulk-ordered 500 or 1000 cards at a time. And looking at both cards together, the print quality is much better on the MOO cards:

MOO (left) vs Vistaprint (right). Any fuzziness is from the extreme close-up, but you can see the clear grain pattern visible on the VP cards only.

Okay, now back to my order! I put together the most adorable StickerBooks:

Each sticker is just under an inch (22mm) in size. The stickers have rounded edges and look completely professional. My only problem with them is that they look so cute as a sticker collection, I’m going to have a hard time using any of the stickers!

As you can see from my earlier photo, MiniCards come packaged in a very nice classy white cardboard box, but as they are an unusual shape, I also bought a MiniCard holder to keep my cards looking pristine when I’m out and about:

I chose this hot pink shade so I’ll quickly be able to find it in my bag when needed, but you can also get sensible black and white versions. And this is, for me, the genius part of MOO cards. Now when I meet someone and they ask what I do, I can whip out my pink card holder and say “I design the patterns for these”:

Pick a card; any card…

I’ve already tried it and it’s a great icebreaker – nobody can resist taking the cards and looking through them all. Then I can casually say “keep your favourite, if you like” and they look thrilled as they try to choose the one they like best. The result is that I’ve handed out my business card (and my details are on the back, so I may get a new customer as a result), but my new friend feels like they’ve been given a gift instead of having contact details forced on them. Win-win

Giveaway Time!

MOO have very generously offered to give three PlanetJune readers their choice of either 50 Classic Business Cards or 100 MiniCards. (Classic Business Cards are exactly the same as MiniCards in terms of quality etc; the only difference is that they’re standard business card size).

The prizes includes standard worldwide shipping, so this contest is open to everyone – yay!

To enter:

Just leave a comment on this post saying what you’d use your MOO cards for if you win!

One entry per person, please.

Make sure the email address you leave with your comment is valid, so I can contact you if you win (don’t worry, that field is private, so only I will see it).

You may enter until 6pm (EST) 11.59pm (PST) on Tuesday January 22nd 2013. I’ll draw the 3 random winners from all the entries after that time.

Good luck!

UPDATE 24 Jan: Thanks to everyone who entered! Just to keep you in the loop, I’ll be drawing the winners in the next few days (when I have time to set up the random drawing) and I’ll update this post with the winners’ names once I’ve done that

That sounds exciting, and though I don’t use business cards all that much, I’d love to have some. My pics aren’t as nice as yours (by a far cry they aren’t), but there are some which might be suitable.

Thank you for your extensive review, an thank you to MOO for these give aways.

I finally got around to opening a store for my blog and crafty things, but now of course I need new business cards so I can send people to my store or at least my FB page, which is a lot friendly than a quiet old blog. I love the idea of different pictures on them too! When I do a market, it may inspire people to take one if they have a choice!

Josefinsaid

Bec.said

I’d love to have some Moo cards! They are so cute. Last year when I went to a dolly convention, lots of people were handing them out so that people could friend request them on Facebook and such after the con. I’d love to be able to do the same next time I go to a con!

I would use my MOO cards to help me promote my business by hanging them on bullitin boards at shops in my area, attatching them to my products I sell in store, and sending them along on my etsy orders so people can pass them on!

Your Moo cards are so cute! I recently started a blog, and I would like to have Mini Cards to advertise it. They would also look cute displayed someplace, or work well as bookmarks. So many possibilities!

I am getting ready to revamp my etsy store and to change the focus of what I sell. I also want to start selling my items locally. Part of this is needing some nice new business cards. I would really appreciate this prize.

Desireesaid

I am going to get married, and moving, and all the things that come with marriage, in September, and I think it would be a lovely idea to have a calling card with my new name and address to give out to family and friends.

JJ Popsaid

I used Moo to print Xmas cards of my drawings last year. Like you I was really impressed with the print quality but would have liked to have been able to order a larger sized greeting card – they only had the one size on offer. I had to contact Moo a couple of times for help and the Customer Services were excellent. Also the cards arrived quicker (UK) than they had promised. Excellent. I would love business cards to advertise my KnitNell textiles and art blog as my home-made ones are a little ‘ropey’!

moragsaid

I’d love to win this to test out my textile patterns and see if the colours work in print the way they do on screen, i’ve been to scared to pay for a bigger order in case they came out weird but this would give me the confidence to pick mini ones that work and get them made into full size ones.

Samanthasaid

I love business cards because of their shape and size and I like collecting the interesting or pretty ones. I’ve always wanted to try to design my own cards with cute pictures (like yours!) but never had a reason or chance to. Did I mention I am only 13? I’m obsessed with collectible cards and making cool business card things would be fun to share and write inspirational quotes on. Hope I win!

P.S. If I win, may I have permission to use some of your crochet animal pictures? They are awesome and I don’t really have anything remarkable to put on them for the time being.

tomaesaid

Maria Ivanssonsaid

I´ve thinked about getting buissinesscard for a long time, but there is allways somthing else in the way. i w´d use the card at craftexhibition fore contact with other crocheters and prospective customers. Love your site. Gretings from a cold (-15°C) and snowy Sweden.

I’ve just found your blog, I’m delighted with it and specially love your animals, what a splendid collection!
And this giveaway is great, the MOO MiniCards are just perfect! When I’m at Markets and Craft Fairs, I have these home made business cards to give to people that are interested in my work (buyers or not)… This Spring I will be at this exhibition in a Marina Hotel and I’d really love to have some more ‘professional’ business cards. The MiniCards are about the same size as my home made ones but surely would look much better! And the idea of “keep your favourite, if you like” is very much fantastic! Thank you for sharing your experience in such detail!
(Suddenly realized you are June of Folding Trees, so good to know!)

Great review… you did a fair comparison to what i’m now using, vistaprint. I have often seen the Moo cards but just haven’t had the capital in my very small business to branch out & try them… this would give me a great opportunity! I would use them to promote my handmade soaps & Lotions, Crave Bath & Spa Products etsy shop! Thanks!

Hi, I’d use them to promote the business I’m starting with my crochet skills. My daughter needs me at home so I have to leave my full time job and start earning very quickly. These M00 cards would help me to stand out from the crowd and get my hats and accessories noticed.

Marion the Geeksaid

I’d use them for my new etsy shop, Purple Okapi Yarn Studio. Right now I’m selling scarf yarn, but I have several expansions planned in the next 2 months including handmade bags for the crocheter (or knitter) on the go, hook cases, and safety eyes!

Andrea G. aka SpringSplndrsaid

Those mini cards are really neat. I saved the link to reorder my contract crochet business cards when I run out. I’d love the mini cards to add as tags to my donation projects with fiber content or washing instructions. Thanks for sharing the link!

I have a Folksy shop with my husband, called Sewn and Sawn – I sew, he saws! I am about to start selling hand-made clothing and I would use the cards as hang tags with our details on the back. Perfect!

I would use them to promote items I have for sale in my college shop. The shop is to get more students into adult education. The items for sale are linked to the courses, and are used to promote the courses.

I would love something that is so much better made than my homemade ones.

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Please note that I can only answer questions related to PlanetJune patterns and tutorials (see details), and I can only respond to questions or comments written in English. Thank you :) - June